


New Blood

by finalphax



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Hospitalization, M/M, Rating May Change, an au that i thought of, anything you'd expect from detective work, wait for the shit to hit the fan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-06-05 02:01:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15159977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/finalphax/pseuds/finalphax
Summary: Hank is injured. Badly. Connor doesn't cope well. A week alone that hinders the investigation also leads Connor to learn a few things about himself and what it truly means to live. But when Hank returns as if nothing happened, how will Connor react?





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey!! if you're reading this, i have a few things i want to say first. this is the first story i've posted online in years, and this first chapter might be a little short because i want to push myself to put it out there so i have a reason to work on it. please leave feedback if you make it through this, it would mean a lot!!

Connor had been alone in Hank’s house for six days now. It was no surprise that the second Hank walked through the front door, Connor was on his feet, raring to go. “Welcome home, lieutenant.” Hank grumbled and stepped around him, walking to the kitchen. Sumo gave a few wags of his tail, but Connor’s company had sated the beast over the past few days. Connor followed Hank, noting a faint whiff of something sterile and cold - latex? He gave the man some space, studying him with an inquisitive look in his eyes. “You seem to have recovered well,” he said, earning a tired side-eyed glance.

“Yeah.” Before Connor could launch his inevitable follow-up investigation, Hank sighed and added, “I feel fine. Down, boy.” Connor’s LED flashed yellow for a moment, and the corner of his mouth turned up. Another dog joke.

“I’m glad you’re back. Despite this setback, I have a lead that we can investigate whenever you’re ready.” Hank rubbed his forehead and pulled a mug down from the cabinets. Something in Connor wanted to step in and help, even though he knew Hank was perfectly capable of making coffee. Instead, he waited in the entrance of the kitchen for a few minutes, studying the tidy house around him.

“You didn’t have to clean the damn place. You’re not a maid.” Connor fidgeted with his coin, glancing around. To be fair, he had gotten a little carried away. The house was spotless; even Sumo was clean.

When Hank finally turned around, sipping out of the steaming cup, Connor took that as a sign to begin his briefing. “While you were gone, there were five incidents involving deviants, one nearly every day. Because of your absence, four of these have been investigated by other teams. The remaining incident is more complicated, but I’ve had some time to analyze it, and I have a few hypotheses.”

A raised brow from the lieutenant was another cue that Connor silently admitted to missing. “Reportedly, a woman got into an altercation with her android, and it disappeared. She wasn’t hurt severely, but no one can figure out where the deviant is located. The first responders already searched every room in the house, but there are a few other locations I’d like to explore.”

“Just got home, and I’m already getting shoved back into work…” Hank pushed himself off the counter, momentarily forgetting his drink as he looked around. “Where the fuck did I put my keys…?” Connor opened a drawer, handing the lieutenant his keys, badge, and gun with a smile. Hank huffed, taking them with a gruff, “Thanks.”

He knew it was wrong, but Connor was glad he had Hank back. The lieutenant would chalk it up to being part of Connor’s social programming; the android would have to disagree. Almost a week ago, when Hank had been admitted to the hospital, Connor felt fear for the second time in his life (the first being when the deviant had shot itself on the roof of the Stratford Tower). He felt like something in him had broken. He should have been better, he should have protected his partner, why did he keep failing?

This morning, however, when Connor received the news that Hank would be coming home, he felt like he had been fixed. The broken parts of him snapped back into place. No more error reports or spiraling, red LEDs for hours on end. Everything was fine, so Connor had no reason to bring it up to Hank. Things would continue as usual.

* * *

Connor had been curled up in the corner of the living room for over four hours now. Four hours, ten minutes, and six seconds to be precise, not that there was a need for precision. Precision was long overdue. He should have been precise when that deviant had a gun aimed at Hank. There was something in Connor that he could only register as pain. Had he turned deviant? He wasn’t cognizant enough to run a self-scan, or maybe he was too afraid.

He knew he shouldn’t be feeling fear in the first place. That had been the first sign. Fear, guilt, anger; things he knew he shouldn’t be experiencing. There was even a flash of understanding as to why deviants do what they do. These emotions felt real, even if every ounce of logic in the android told him otherwise.

Above everything, there was one thought that circled him like a damn vulture, waiting for him to give in and collapse: This was his fault. He let the deviant get free. He let Hank push him out of the line of fire. He was the reason Hank had bled so damn much. Connor knew that humans had more blood than androids had thirium, but that didn’t change anything. Seeing it pour out of Hank like that…

Connor looked down at himself. His shaking hands were stained red from his frantic attempts to keep the lieutenant alive. His clothes were still wet and even worse for wear, the smell of iron filling his artificial lungs.

He ignored the messages flashing at the edge of his vision, warning of a complete system malfunction. There was something streaming down his face, and he parted his lips slightly to sample it: clear thirium, used to protect an android’s optical units.

Emotional, physical, and mental malfunctions. Connor was overwhelmed, to say the least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how was the split-story format? should i continue telling both stories in a single chapter, or alternate between them? if i alternated, each chapter would probably be longer, but the story as a whole would progress slower.
> 
> regardless, i hope you enjoyed chapter one!!!


	2. Chapter 2

By the ninth hour, Connor managed to contact CyberLife for a new suit. He tossed his old one in the laundry room sink, rinsed the dried blood off of himself, and tried not to let the silence bother him. He felt sick, like his processors were trying to shove a boulder uphill.

Sumo could tell something was wrong, not just from Lieutenant Anderson’s absence, but from the way Connor was acting - lost, distracted, and generally more Hank-like. He tried his best to comfort the android, but Connor was still reeling. Sumo pouted and waited by the door for Hank to come home.

“He's not coming,” Connor said, his voice splintering like he’d been in the desert for weeks without water. He ignored the error message that popped up, and headed into Hank’s bedroom, hesitating at the closet door. It would be weird if he was naked until the new suit got here; that's what Hank would tell him, right?

Connor pawed at Hank’s clothes, afraid that if he put anything in the wrong place, he’d break something. It was completely irrational, he knew that, but to the broken parts of him, it made sense. Picking an outfit had never been so complicated before. Every item he saw sent its own kind of error message through Connor’s skull: can’t wear that, it’s the T-shirt Hank was wearing the first time Connor found him unconscious. That faded coat? No, Hank had it on when Connor realized that he liked how the man’s snowy hair shimmered in the moonlight. Even the vibrant, striped fashion disaster he wore on the day he decked Gavin in the jaw was off-limits.

He smiled softly at that memory; Gavin had shoved Connor so hard, he nearly slammed his head into the corner of his desk on his way down. And Hank was furious, even though Connor was perfectly fine. Connor couldn’t help being faintly amused from the look on Gavin’s face.

Sighing, he deemed the fashion disaster worthy, and slid his arms into the sleeves. Despite the clear size difference, Connor felt… comfortable. Safe. Like Hank was right by him, ready to fight off anyone for the android. He let himself bask in the warm feeling as he buttoned the shirt and slipped on a pair of shorts.

Except now, there was a new feeling, even warmer than before. Connor couldn’t quite identify it; it was happy and comforting, yet it made him want to curl up like he had earlier and let the tears flow. He had stopped worrying about potential deviancy at this point. Hank was a much more important person to be worrying about than a stupid failure of an android.

He stepped back out into the hallway, his naked feet on the worn floorboards sounding a lot like Sumo’s paws. The beast looked up at him, and in a strange way, he understood how the poor thing felt. Connor knelt by the dog’s side, petting him reassuringly, but he couldn’t tell who he was trying to reassure. They both just wanted their Hank back.

* * *

The harsh slamming of a car door shook Connor out of his memories and back into the real world. He quickly followed Hank up to the front door, standing politely yet eerily still in the way he always did as Hank knocked, a little harder than he usually did. Connor pretended not to notice.

An average looking woman answered the door, looking at the two men on her doorstep like thieves instead of cops. Hank softened his expression as much as possible and lowered his head as he spoke. “Hello, ma’am. I’m Lieutenant Anderson from the DPD, I’m here to investigate the incident that recently took place here. Could my partner and I have a quick look around?” He flashed his badge and a smile, but the woman held her ground.

“The police already investigated. There’s nothing here,” she shot back, but her voice was weary rather than annoyed. At the sight of two pairs of puppy dog eyes, she quickly gave in and took a step back. “You’re welcome to have a look around, I suppose.”

Hank made his way inside, and Connor offered a smile and a soft, “Thank you.” The woman’s weak smile cracked as she took in what the glowing blue insignia on Connor’s jacket meant.

“You guys sent an android to investigate this…?” she stated more than asked. Hank held back an eye roll and glanced around the living room.

“I’m an RK800, a top of the line prototype sent by CyberLife. Lieutenant Anderson and I handle all cases surrounding deviants. Don’t worry, Ms. Rogers, we’ll be out of your hair soon.” A plastic smile spread across his lips, and Ms. Rogers seemed sated for now. Connor followed Hank as he headed into the dining room.

“So, what are some of those ‘hypotheses’ you mentioned? Because I’m at a loss, here,” Hank grumbled, as if he did anything but grumble. Connor nodded and casually invaded Hank’s personal space, keeping his voice low.

“My first thought was about Carlos Ortiz’s android, the one that hid in the attic. It said it didn’t leave because it was afraid, and didn’t have anyone to tell it what to do. But we know this deviant is not in the house.” He paused to see if Hank had caught on yet. His blank, annoyed stare told Connor that he hadn’t, so the android continued.

“What would a deviant do if it was alone and afraid?”

__

Curl up in the corner and cry?

__

Connor shook his head and let his mouth crack into an excited grin. “It would want something familiar. So, my first hypothesis is that this deviant isn’t too far.” Hank shrugged and continued to wander as Connor continued.

“But where would a deviant feel was familiar, other than its home? It’s only a KW500, it wouldn’t spend much time outside. That leads us to my second hypothesis: It panicked and fled to keep itself safe. It didn’t feel comfortable here, so it wanted to find somewhere or something else to grasp onto.”

Hank raised his eyebrows at Connor, sighing. “Your guess is as good as mine. D’you got any more?” Connor nodded and glanced around in case there was something the team before them missed.

“Just one. When an android is confronted with a problem it can’t solve, it returns to its owner to gather more information, or change its objective. In the deviant’s case, though, it wouldn’t want to return here, but to somewhere - or someone - with more information. This could be Elijah Kamski, CyberLife headquarters, or rA9.”

“So we have a few ideas, not a few leads.” Connor’s LED spun yellow, then back to blue as he nodded. “Well, it’s more than I’ve got.” The android smiled proudly and led Hank back to the front door.

“Are you leaving already…?” Ms. Rogers asked, a mixture of sadness and confusion swirling in her eyes. “You barely looked at anything…” Hank squinted, matching the woman’s confusion.

“We checked the whole house, and the guys that already came checked everything, too. It matches the report, don’t it? There’s nothing here,” Hank said, crossing his arms. Connor knew the lieutenant wanted to hurry up and go home, especially since this investigation seemed like a lost cause, so he mumbled a quick apology before they headed back to the car.

“Are you feeling alright, lieutenant? You were a little short-tempered with Ms. Rogers.”

“I’m fine. You gotta stop nagging me so much. I’ll tell you if something’s up.” Connor nodded, settling into the passenger seat. “Alright, so where’re we headed first?”

Connor created a task list and scanned the list of potential locations. “We’ll test the first hypothesis, where the deviant is still in the area.” Hank started the car and shifted into reverse as he backed out of the driveway. “This shouldn’t take too long, since I’ll be able to scan our surroundings from the car. I doubt the android has stayed for this long, but this would rule out my first hypothesis.”

“You sound like a damn scientist,” Hank muttered, driving slowly around the block. Connor’s lips twitched into the hint of a smile.

“I know you don’t like wasting time, lieutenant. It’s alright if you drive a little faster.”

“God, were you always this needy? I’m gone for a few days, and you come back sounding like my ex wife.” Another flash of yellow, and Connor’s smirk grew into a full grin.

“I missed your jokes, lieutenant,” Connor said softly, looking over at him. Hank shifted, vaguely uncomfortable.

“Why don’t you shut your trap unless you see something, hm? You’re giving me a headache.” A typical way to change the subject for Hank, but Connor complied and returned to silently scanning the street. They drove on in silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey everyone!! if you're reading this, thank you!! i'm super excited for this story, and i really appreciate the comments and kudos :') i was afraid this would go unnoticed, but a few of you really seem to enjoy it!! hopefully now that there's two chapters, it won't seem so barren. i have high standards for myself woops. also if there are any errors, or if something doesnt make sense, dont hesitate to tell me!! i want to make this story the best it can be :)


	3. author's note.

hey everyone, if you're reading this, thanks :) but i'm just feeling really insecure about this. i know it's not as good as it could be, and i'm not even sure what direction it's headed in. y'all are gonna lose your minds once i really get into the story, but i think it would be better if i rewrote what i have so far and repost it as a different work, unless y'all really want me to keep it here. im. so excited to get on with it but i'm worrying too much about what everyone will think and i'm losing the story in the process. sorry for the 'new chapter', but hopefully you'll lend me your patience and come back when i have something to be really proud of :)

like. i have really high standards for myself. it doesnt feel right if a chapter has less than 2000 words, and this two chapter fic only has 2500. it feels weak and lame. im gonna make it better, i swear.


	4. author's note pt. 2

hey guys!! the better version of this fic is posted. it has the same name, but the chapters are actually a good length now (at least for my standards). i'll continue to post the rest of the story there, so if you're interested in this fic, go ahead and read the better version of it :)


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